Entertainment

Bluepulse Mobile Messaging Network Introduces iPhone App

Bluepulse, a social network geared exclusively for easy and free messaging among Web-enabled mobile phones, is expanding on its list of compatible devices today with the launch of an application designed to give iPhone owners a custom-fit window to send messages quickly to any number of friends.

The application, like many other social networking-specific developments listed in Apple’s App Store, is free to download. If you’re not yet signed up with Bluepulse, you’ can do so directly from the device, and you can get started as quickly as you’re able to choose a screen name, password and enter your phone number. Upon registering, you’re told to expect an SMS message noting a code that will verify the number provided. In my experience, the wait time for an SMS is roughly 5 minutes. Why SMS? Presumably because many devices used to connect to Bluepulse are not particularly savvy with mobile mail.

The application is very much like its predecessor (first launched in 2006), in both function and presentation. Everything is centered around your contact list and your ability to message as many or as few friends as you wish. A bit like Twitter, if you will, but with more control over who you’re talking to. (Note: If you want to, a connection to Twitter can be made through the application’s settings menu.)

After having given Bluepulse a brief test, I would have to say it isn’t my first choice for mobile social networking. While I approve wholeheartedly of its easy ability to help you send messages to whomever you wish without having to splurge on SMS messages or go through the rigmarole of email, its presentation isn’t the most elegant I’ve seen come about in the last few days. It will certainly feel familiar to BluePulse’s established membership. All things considered, however, other applications of the mobile multi-messaging stripe listed in the App Store since its launch have impressed me more.

There’s a bit of an odd arrangement within the application, too, that presents an option to enter contacts both via a method akin to the way BluePulse has long allowed and by way of the iPhone’s own address book. And they’re not placed adjacent to one another, either. The first is at the top of the main page, and the second is among the lower menu options. A bit strange, if you ask me, but making it like so might help ease “the transition” for pre-existing network members.

Bluepulse also describes an ability to take photos from within the application, but doing so is hardly convenient. The option is burrowed within the ‘Stuff’ sub-menu beneath the ‘Me’ tab.

In all, I wouldn’t completely write off BluePulse’s iPhone option just yet. The company, based in San Mateo, Calif., has managed to attract quite a bit of activity on its network without delving into Apple’s handset directly. Which is certainly commendable. But if you’re seeking the best of the best, I would say Bluepulse isn’t one to get the nod.

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